After soaking in the footbath, when the three Naruses returned to the hotel room, the low table in the bedroom had been put away, and six quilts were neatly spread out on the tatami from inside to outside.
Shangzi and the others haven't come back yet.
"I still feel a little cold. Do you want to go down and soak in the hot springs for a while?" Morimi invited Haixing.
"Okay."
"Is Naruse coming?"
"Would you like to take a dip together?"
Morimi glanced at him, pushed up his glasses, and said, "Okay."
"Then you go first, I'll be right back."
Starfish also looked over.
"Don't take it seriously."
"...Oh."
The two returned to the room and didn't stay for a while, then went down together with towels.
Naruse was too lazy to go to the hot springs alone, so he turned on the TV and chose a futon with the best viewing angle to sit on.
"Well, it just so happens that there are variety shows you can watch at this time."
Several familiar faces appeared on the screen. If I remember correctly, he had dinner with one or two of them.
After watching for a while, Naruse took out his mobile phone and looked at the exchanges with Matsu Chiaki in the past two days.
"She seems very busy over there."
Not long after, Shangzi and the other two finally returned to the room.
"Has the quilt been laid out? It's so thoughtful." Hikaru Takigawa opened the sliding door and came in, "Why is it that Harumi, Kazuyo and Haixing are the only ones here?"
"Going to the hot springs."
Naruse looked at the three people with rosy faces, and his eyes stayed on Naoko's face, "How does the rock bath feel?"
"I have been lying on the hot stone floor and sweated a lot." She smiled, "It is said that it can detoxify and reduce fat."
"Then I'll go and experience it tomorrow too."
"Okay." She looked at the empty quilts on his left and right, hesitating, "Does Chunhai want to sleep here?"
"I haven't slept yet." Naruse said, "I'm watching TV."
Shangzi didn't say anything and sat down on his bed.
"Hmm!"
On the other side, Takigawa Yue lay down on another quilt in a posture of prostrating herself to the ground.
Naruse glanced twice, "What's wrong with Sister Yue?"
"It's okay, I just relaxed my body too much." Hikari Takigawa smiled at him.
"It's about to fall apart!"
Takigawa Yue turned her head, "The massage hurts... They are obviously elderly grannies, but their hands are as strong as light."
"...Really, that's pretty awesome."
Naruse only thinks she is exaggerating.
If those old ladies were really as strong as Takigawa Hikaru, she would probably be able to just hum at the moment.
"The old lady doing the massage was really strong, but after the massage, I felt really comfortable."
Shangzi came closer and pressed against his shoulder, "The entire massage room was filled with the screams of Sister Yue and Guang."
"Light too?"
Takigawa Yue is fragile and cannot bear the massage. He can understand that Takigawa has a strong body and does not look like he will scream after being massaged.
"The first few strokes were really painful, but the rest were just for fun."
Takigawa Hikari smiled and sat down, "Otherwise it would be a bit embarrassing to have only Yue screaming there."
"Woo..."
Takigawa Yue buried her head into the pillow.
"Are you watching a variety show?" After comforting his sister, Takigawa Hikaru also looked at the TV.
"Well, just take a look."
"Ah, it's this show. Will there be Harumi's mother in this episode?"
Takikawa Yue immediately raised her head, while Naruse shook his head, "How can she have time to attend variety shows now?"
"Is the shooting time very tight?"
"Well, the director fell down and stopped filming for a few days. It seems to have had a big impact on the filming plan."
"That's it..."
A few people were watching TV and chatting endlessly. After more than ten minutes, Morimi and Haixing also returned to the room.
Naoko leaned on Naruse and looked at the two of them, "There should be no one in the hot spring pool at night."
"Yes."
Morimi looked at her and Naruse and nodded, "The elderly seem to rest quite early."
"What time should we go to bed today?"
Hikaru Takigawa asked his companions, "It feels like it's still very early, and I have to stay here for another day and night tomorrow."
"Of course I'll sleep when I'm sleepy..." Naruse said, but he didn't have much confidence.
Shangzi looked at him.
"Besides watching TV, are there no other activities?"
"No."
"Okay."
Takigawa Hikaru didn't force herself, lying down next to the futon where her sister was lying on her stomach and lying on her side.
"Why don't you think about what else you can do tomorrow? There is nothing to do here." Naruse said.
"If I had known, I would have booked it for just one night... I didn't expect it to be so small."
As she spoke, she sighed.
"It's okay. If you only stay one night, you have to check out at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. It feels a bit rushed."
Naruse turned to comfort him, and then said: "It doesn't matter if you stay one more day. Let's see if there are any other places to visit near Ohanazawa City. If it's not too far, we'll go with the hotel car tomorrow morning.
Go out and come back in the evening."
"Okay."
Takigawa Hikari smiled again, thought for a while and said: "Next time we go out together, Harumi will be responsible for things like the itinerary, just like the last time he went to Kyoto. Because Harumi is more thoughtful.
."
Naruse looked at the TV, undecided.
"Spring sea?"
"Let's talk about it then."
If she agrees easily, there is no chance that she will suddenly come up with some plan to skip school.
"Then where should we go to play next time?" Haixing asked.
"Let's talk next time."
Naruse glanced at her and almost forgot that this person was also a very unstable factor.
"If Haixing still wants to hang out with us, we have to wait until you pay off your 'debt' first."
She pouted and leaned closer to Morimi.
She smiled at her and said, "Let's see where we can go tomorrow."
"Okay." Hikaru Takigawa crawled over, took out his mobile phone, and looked through travel guides near Obanazawa City.
"How about we go to that...that place we saw on TV this afternoon."
"Zao Onsen?"
"That's right, it's the place where supernatural phenomena occur."
"Zao Juhyo? That can't be said to be a supernatural phenomenon...but I also want to see it with my own eyes."
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Naoko also moved and sat on the side facing them, her back still leaning against Naruse.
"If you go to Zao Onsen, you have to get up early."
The evening passed slowly amid the discussions among several people.
At a certain moment, Takigawa Hikari couldn't help but yawn.
"Well..."
She looked back and saw that her sister was lying on the quilt and there had been no sound for a long time.
"Yue has fallen asleep."
Hikaru Takigawa got up, lifted up another quilt next to him, carried his sister over and put her down, and looked at the time again.
"It's already this time...Aren't Haixing still sleepy?" She looked at Haixing and Morimi, both of whom were still very energetic.
Naruse, who was sitting on the other side, didn't speak much, but he obviously wasn't sleepy yet.
And Shangzi, who was leaning on him, had already yawned non-stop just now.
"Well...I'm not too sleepy yet."
"Don't be too excited, aren't you going to Zao Hot Spring tomorrow?" Naruse said.
Starfish curled her lips.
It's not because of the can of coffee he bought.
"It's almost time to sleep." Morimi sat up and glanced at the remaining quilts.
"Can you sleep now?" Haixing looked at her.
"You can still sleep if you want to."
Sen smiled and said, "Let's lie down first and then talk."
Naruse raised his arm and touched Naoko, "Go to sleep."
"Yeah."
Shangzi sat up, climbed to the innermost bed by the window, lifted the quilt, but did not get in, but looked back at him.
Naruse didn't say anything, got up, went over, and lay down there.
"Let me turn off the lights." Hikaru Takigawa said.
"Okay." Naoko opened the quilt next to Naruse and lay down.
After Haixing and Morimi got into bed respectively, Takigawa Hikari turned off the light.
Bang, the room suddenly became dark, and there was a little light reflected in the snow outside the window, so it was not completely dark.
Staring at the ceiling, Haixing turned to look at Morimi next to him and Naoko on the other side. Neither of them fell asleep immediately.
"What time will breakfast be tomorrow?" she said to break the sudden silence after turning off the lights.
"Seven to eight o'clock." It was Naruse who answered.
"Oh."
Hikari Takigawa turned sideways and faced inside, "It's seven or eight in the morning, can the starfish get up?"
"It's hard to say..."
It was very comfortable to lie on the bed, but Haixing was still not sleepy at all. She could already foresee that she would fall asleep until late at night and not be able to get up again tomorrow morning.
"Sorry."
Next to him, Morimi suddenly said, "I'm used to drinking coffee, and it doesn't have that much of an impact on my sleep. I forgot to consider the condition of the starfish."
"It's okay..."
Haixing shook his head, raised his body slightly, and glanced at Naruse, who was sleeping in the back.
He lay motionless, and it was not clear whether his eyes were still open.
He obviously drank coffee, why didn't he say something?
She glanced at Shangzi, who was sleeping between the two of them, and suddenly turned his head and looked over.
"..."
Starfish moved her body, pretending that she just wanted to sleep a little higher.
"Does Kazuha often drink coffee and stay up late to study?" Hikaru Takigawa asked.
"Almost."
Morimi closed his eyes, "Sometimes when I don't complete the target study progress, I will rely on coffee to cheer me up and study for a while."
"Really, I'm different."
Takigawa Hikaru lay flat, "Even if it's review before the exam, I'll rest when the time comes."
Sen smiled and said, "We all have different goals."
"But rest is also very important. Yue just rests when he is tired from studying. At least he won't force himself too much when he is sleepy." Hikaru Takigawa said, and looked at his sister sleeping outside.
Takigawa Yue woke up slightly just now, and now she has fallen asleep again.
Morimi was silent for a few seconds.
"Actually, recently, I have become much more relaxed than before..."
She subconsciously looked towards Naruse and could only see Starfish staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Go to sleep." Morimi closed his eyes again.
Takigawa Hikaru looked at her, pulled up the quilt, "Well, good night."
"Good night."
Both of them fell silent, and the silence spread quickly in the room, and together with the darkness shrouded outside the window, people fell into sleep...
——Sleep now?
Haixing turned and stared at Mori for a while.
Can you really fall asleep?
And she stared until her eyes were sore, and there was no movement from Morimi who was lying flat on his back. He seemed to have fallen asleep the moment he said good night.
Starfish closed her eyes hard for a few times, her eyes moist and dry.
She turned her head and looked to the other side. Shangzi turned his back to her, or in other words, faced his side.
She controlled her breathing, carefully raised her body, glanced at Naruse inside, and slowly lay down again.
Still can't see clearly...
Haixing slowly let out a breath and couldn't help but glance at Shangzi.
Before turning off the lights, she was still thinking about who would sleep next to him, but in the end, Naoko directly drove him to the innermost room, and used herself as a barrier between him and everyone else.
And no one seemed to find it strange, so she could only adapt to the atmosphere and pretend everything was normal.
Is it because he is the only boy...
Obviously we are already so close that we live in the same room, so there is no need to deliberately distance ourselves when we fall asleep.
——It was Shangzi who "occupied" him.
A trace of dissatisfaction just arose in his heart, and Haixing felt that it was natural.
Isn’t that the kind of relationship they have?
Exclusively occupy each other and exclude others.
If the person in that position next to him was her, she would do the same thing.
——But she never really had him.
"..."
Haixing kicked off the quilt and took a deep breath to stop himself from thinking about it any more.
But her consciousness is extremely clear, and she will always think of something.
The quieter the time, the more so.
She was depressed at the bottom of her heart, and the soft quilt under her body was like a fire-heated iron plate, constantly tormenting her.
Haixing turned over and faced Morimi on the other side.
For no reason, the image of her leaning on his shoulder came to mind again.
Just relax a little bit...
Besides Naoko and Hikari, would Kazuyo be so close to him?
Although he avoided it, he didn't seem to be resisting.
She is the only one he resists.
"..."
Starfish bit her lip.
Isn’t this so unfair?
"...Can't you sleep?"
I don’t know how long it took, but a very soft inquiry suddenly sounded in the darkness, coming from right in front of me.
Starfish blinked his blurry eyes, "Yiye..."
Her voice was a little hoarse, so she coughed lightly and pretended to wipe it on her eyes casually.
"Well... I can't sleep." Haixing replied in a low voice.
"Me too."
Morimi exhaled, "That can of coffee is too bitter, and the refreshing effect is a little stronger than I thought."
She smiled.
Suddenly there was a light in the darkness.
"Have you been lying down for almost an hour?"
Morimi put down his phone and raised his voice slightly, "Is Naruse asleep?"
There was no response, and she didn't think he had fallen asleep, so she curled her lips.
Shaking off his random thoughts, Haixing was very happy to have an extra late-night companion, so he joined her.
"I feel like I won't be able to get up tomorrow morning..."
"It's okay, I'll call you."
"It feels very uncomfortable when I get up."
"Then don't bark?"
"No, let's just scream...even if I can't say anything anymore, you still have to pull me up." Haixing knew very well the state he was in when he woke up.
Sen smiled and said, "Okay."
Although both of them tried their best to lower their voices, the night was quiet and Naruse could still hear a little bit, but not clearly.
He can't sleep either.
After lying there for a while, he heard a rustling movement. He raised his body slightly, only to find that Haixing had crawled into Morimi's bed.
The two huddled together, still covered with quilts, and their voices were even lower.
"..."
He is still awake.
But he can't get into Morimi's bed.
Naruse could only lie down and look at the ceiling in the darkness.
It was completely silent, and you could vaguely hear the sound of flowing water in the small river next to the street.
The old window shook slightly, it was the wind and snow outside again.
After being dazed for a while, Naruse turned around and looked at Naoko sleeping next to him.
He kept listening to her breathing and was not sure whether she was really asleep.
Looking down, he noticed that her hand had been stretched out of the quilt.
After looking at it twice, he held her hand and put it under the quilt.
When she was about to pull away, she suddenly tightened her grip.
"..."
Naruse pursed his lower lip.
"Shangzi?"
She did not answer, her breathing was still as calm as before, and her handshake was more like an unconscious and natural reaction in sleep.
Naruse was silent for a while, closed his eyes, found the most comfortable position to lie down, and held her hand tightly.
Even if you can't sleep, you have to sleep. You have to get up tomorrow morning.
There is a bathroom in the hotel room, but there is no independent bathroom. You still have to go outside when it is convenient.
Climbing out of bed, Starfish took a big breath of fresh air.
"It's so boring..."
Morimi also exposed his head and shook the quilt twice to get some air.
Neither of them could sleep, so they hid in bed and chatted until now.
"Do you want me to accompany you?"
"Okay." Haixing doesn't want to go to the bathroom alone.
"Move gently, they are already asleep."
"Oh..." Haixing immediately slowed down.
Sitting up, she was afraid that her actions would wake up Shangzi, so she turned her head and glanced.
"..."
Seeing her suddenly stunned, Morimi, who had already stood up, put on his glasses and said, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay..." Haixing climbed up and shook his head numbly.
Morimi also glanced over there.
Beside the half-covered quilt, two hands are held together.